Child serial killer nurse Lucy Letby suggested she could give “tips” to a colleague on how to get away with murder, the public inquiry into events surrounding her crimes has heard.
Letby and union rep Hayley Griffiths swapped messages in 2017 about the US TV legal drama How to Get Away with Murder.
The WhatsApp exchange took place a year after the neonatal nurse was moved to clerical duties at the Countess of Chester Hospital after consultants voiced concerns she may be deliberately harming babies – and a year before she was first arrested by Cheshire Police on suspicion of multiple murders.
The Thirlwall Inquiry heard that Lucy Letby and a colleague discussed the TV show How to Get Away With Murder (Peter Byrne/PA)
Ms Griffiths messaged Letby: “I’m currently watching a programme called how to get away with murder. I’m learning some good tips.”
Letby replied: “I could have given you some tips x”
Ms Griffiths went on: “I need someone to practice on to see if I can get away with it.”
Letby said: “I can think of two people you could practice on and will help you cover it up x”
Ms Griffiths said: “Deal. I will get thinking of a plan. Get the cruise booked as our getaway.”
The pair were working at the time in the hospital’s risk and patient safety department where Ms Griffiths said she, and “quite a lot of us”, became friends with Letby.
Ms Griffiths confirmed to the Thirlwall Inquiry that by September 2016, she was aware of the concerns of foul play and the connection to Letby.
Shahram Sharghy, representing some of the families of Letby’s victims, asked: “Given the severity of the allegations that were made, and would you agree they are possibly the most serious allegations that anybody could make against a healthcare professional, were you making light of those allegations when you were referring to potentially committing a crime?”
Ms Griffiths said: “No.”
Mr Sharghy said: “Can you even begin to imagine and put yourself in the position of the families of the babies who were harmed when they see those messages?”
Ms Griffiths said: “I know … I am so remorseful. As soon as I saw them myself I was upset and I can’t begin to imagine…I can only apologise and say I have learned. I can’t go back in time but I have reflected absolutely on it.”
Earlier, the witness told counsel to the inquiry Rachel Langdale KC: “It was nothing more than a conversation. However I truly and deeply regret having started that conservation…this is completely unprofessional, poor judgment on my behalf and completely insensitive. And for that, I can only apologise from the bottom of my heart. ”
On Wednesday the inquiry was also told about a statement that Letby’s parents John and Susan sent to trust executives following the outcome of a grievance complaint that Letby submitted over her removal from the neonatal unit.
The grievance was upheld in her favour and later led to hospital bosses demanding that the consultants apologise to her.
The probe, which is taking place before Lady Justice Thirlwall, was told of a statement Lucy Letby’s parents sent to hospital executives (Peter Byrne/PA)
The Letbys wrote: “Whilst it slowly came to light that certain consultants had made comments about her professionally – when we read the grievance report, to say we were shocked to the core is the understatement of the century.
“As parents the sickening allegations made against our daughter became a game changer.
“Our daughter has been to hell and back since July. Can you imagine what it is like to know that colleagues are calling you a murderer?
“She has frequently said to us during the last 4 months ‘I wouldn’t hurt anything let alone a tiny baby’.
“It has broken our hearts especially as we live a hundred miles away and we are so proud of how Lucy has conducted herself and endured this nightmare. I have often said to Lucy ‘how do you keep going’ and she says quite simply ‘because I haven’t done anything wrong’.
“We fear for her health as she has lost weight every time we see her and we can see she is suffering inside. We have yet to see if (she) will suffer any long term psychological damage.
“When any organisation is in trouble it is the person at the top who is taken to task, not the person at the bottom – in this case a young relatively inexperienced Band 5 nurse at the start of her career.
“It does not make sense that Lucy was put in charge of the sickest babies if there were concerns about her dating back to last year.
“We believe that certain consultants have a personal grudge against Lucy and we are at a loss as to understanding why.
“The overlying question that has kept us awake since the day this all started and no one has come up with an answer is ‘Why Lucy?’”
Lucy Letby was handed 15 whole-life orders after she was convicted of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven others (Cheshire Constabulary/PA)
Letby, 34, from Hereford, is serving 15 whole-life orders after she was convicted at Manchester Crown Court of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven others, with two attempts on one of her victims, between June 2015 and June 2016.
The inquiry is expected to sit until early 2025, with findings published by late autumn of that year.